Chasing the Cold
by DuAnn Cowart
Summary: The effects of Alex Summers' arrival in the Mutant X Universe.


This is rated PG. Not really all that naughty, but adult

themes anyway.

  
  


Not my usual characters, so this is a bit of an

experiment. Feedback seriously craved. Many thanks to

Falstaff for the title.

  
  
  
  


Chasing the Cold

  
  
  
  


~~She rolled over in their huge bed, nestling closer to him,

instinctively seeking the heat from his body. The New Mexico

nights were cold, but his skin was hot against hers, a side

effect of the abilities that had alternately tormented and

delighted him his entire life. She really didn't mind-

she'd slept beside this man long enough to be accustomed

to the heat.

  
  


She studied his profile in the dim light the desert stars

provided through the windows. Fine, silky blond hair, a

proud nose, chiseled features- he looked like any number

of the male models that populated the GQ magazines he

insisted on subscribing to even here in the desert. Mmmm,

he was handsome, she thought for the thousandth time,

taking his hand in hers, shivering at the memory of what

those hands could do. . . 

  
  


The warm cotton sheets were soft against her bare skin, and

she shifted slightly, savoring the indulgence of the purely

physical sensations she was experiencing. Running her

fingers lightly over his muscled chest, she delighted in

the normalcy of it all. In spite of the fantastic battles

they'd fought, the technicolor manipulations they'd

suffered through, she'd finally attained her heart's

desire. She was safe, with the man she loved, doing an

exciting, fulfilling job she loved. She knew who she was-

there was 

no more wondering about who or what she might have been. 

  
  


Sensing her movement, he draped a muscled arm around her,

drawing her closer to him. Blue eyes opened sleepily.

  
  


"Having trouble sleeping?" His quiet voice asked through a

yawn. They'd both had more than a few sleepless nights

when they'd first come here.

  
  


"Not anymore," she answered honestly. Raising a hand to his

face, she lightly traced the outline of his strong jawline,

pressed herself even closer to him, delighting in his body's

reaction to her. "How about you, Alex?" Her voice was

light, playful. "Want to go back to sleep?"

She sensed rather than saw his answering smile. Brushing a

lock of green hair away from her face, he lowered his face

to hers. "What do *you* think?"

  
  


Still sheltered in the curve of his arms, she arched her

back in pleasure as he nuzzled her neck, hands skillfully

moving over her body. "I think I love you."

  
  


"I love you, too, Lorna," he whispered hoarsely, then went

on to show her just how much~~

  
  
  
  


Lorna Dane moaned in her sleep, caught in the throes of yet

another erotic dream. "Oh, Alex," she whispered, lips parted

in ecstasy, tossing in her huge empty bed. She saw, she

felt flashes of his hands, his mouth, their bodies twined

together- and then, without warning, the images shattered

as her whole life exploded in a ball of burning fire in

the sky. She watched, horrified, unable to turn away as

chunks of the plane fell to the earth. She tried to use

her magnetic powers to catch them, but she couldn't get

them all, they were falling too fast, and they were burnt,

and Alex was burnt, and Alex was dead, and she would never

see him or feel him again and he'd never know how much she

still loved him- 

  
  


"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She woke up, screaming, pulling the

blankets closer to her, unable to bear yet another

freezing night alone. New Mexico, again- Dammit, why did

she always have to dream of New Mexico? Why did she always

remember the place where they'd been happiest, far away

from the X-Men and the cause and the fight for mutant

rights and X-Factor and everyone else but themselves? Why,

of all the places they'd been, all the things they'd seen,

did her dreams always return her to their small house in

the desert? 

  
  


With a flick of her powers, Lorna moved the thermostat in

the hall up several degrees. It was cold in her house

alone. She lay back down in the quilted comforters, long

limbs curled up into a small ball, unable to get warm. She

didn't sleep.

  
  


________________

  
  
  
  
  
  


She rolled over in their huge bed, nestling closer to him,

instinctively seeking his warmth. The New York nights were

cold, and her sleep was colder, but his skin was as hot as

always against hers. She didn't mind- his heat staved off

the coldness inside her, his bright fire ignited the dying

embers inside her, helped keep the icy shadows at bay.

  
  


She studied her husband in the dim light of the castle. He

was still the handsomest man she'd ever known. The last

few years had been hard on them all, she reflected, but

despite a few lines around the eyes and a scant few

strands of silver in the gold Alex looked much the same as

he had when they'd first met. She was glad their son

favored him so much, in appearance and in the cool

intelligence he already exibited at so early an age. 

  
  


'Scotty,' she thought again of her son, sleeping safely in

his nursery. Her golden angel, the living, breathing proof

that she was capable of love and worthy of her place in

humanity. He was her reason for living. Whatever price

she'd had to pay to ensure his safetly had been well worth

it. 

  
  


Still, though- it was so cold, and she was so tired. It

was growing increasingly more difficult to fight the dark

voices, the repulsive creatures that called to her when

she let down her guard even for a minute, the demons that

some dark part of her longed to join. She was growing so,

so tired.

  
  


The man beside her murmured something in his sleep, and

she leaned closer to better hear him. "What, Alex? Do you

need something, honey?"

  
  


He was mumbling incoherently, fighting off a nightmare.

Wrapping her arms tightly around him, she gently slipped

into his mind and soothed the troubled thoughts, easing

him back into peace, wishing her own fears could be calmed

so easily. She noted a bit clinically how much cleaner his

thoughts were. The effects of whatever it had been that

had upset him so badly those months ago- whatever it was

that had made him think he was not really her Alex Summers

but instead the Alex Summers from an alternate dimension,

a claim that would have been laughable had it not been

*her* husband making it- had finally subsided enough that

Alex had almost fully returned to his role as husband,

father and leader of the Six. 

  
  


She curled closer to him, idly running her fingers over his

well muscled chest. He had certainly returned to his role as

lover well enough- though he'd protested for a while after

the 'incident', as she'd referred to it, it hadn't taken

her long to convince him to return to her bed. Alex had

always been a man of strong appetites; they'd always

complemented each other very well in that regards.

  
  


She smiled softly, lowering her mouth to nip gently at his

ear, letting his warmth swell through her. Even in the

middle of the fantastic battles they fought on a daily

basis, the darkness that sometimes threatened to

overshadow their lives and her soul, she'd finally

attained her life's goal. She was fighting the good fight

with the man she loved and friends she for the most part

respected. She finally knew who she was- she almost never

wondered about where she came from anymore. She tried not

to wonder where she was going.

  
  


She nuzzled his neck, long red hair spilling across his

chest, pale hands caressing his flesh. Blue eyes opened

sleepily, widening slightly, then creasing in the corners

as he smiled.

  
  


"Hey, you." His sleep-roughened voice was soft as he

wrapped strong arms around her, pulling her closer to him. 

  
  


She leaned down to kiss him. "Trouble sleeping?" She

asked, sultry voice smooth and low. He'd had more than a

few sleepless nights the last few months.

  
  


"As a matter of fact, yes," he answered, a warm, teasing

smile on his face. "Some gorgeous red-haired vixen was

terrorizing my dreams, doing horribly perverse things to

my poor helpless self-"

  
  


"Tsk tsk tsk. You poor baby," she answered, shaking her

head back and forth, a mock sympathetic look on her face.

  
  


"Awful, isn't it." He pulled her atop him with a broad

smile.

  
  


"Just terrible." She moved her hips slightly. He moaned in

response.

  
  


"Maddie-" His eyes closed, and she murmured wordlessly,

moving in the way she knew pleased him, pleased them both.

To her startlement, he sat up, back pressed flat against

the headboard, pulling her into his lap. Her head tilted

slightly, a bit surprised. This wasn't like him. 

  
  


He stared at her for several long minutes, and she was

silent, respecting his obvious struggle for words.

"Maddie, I- I don't know if I've told you lately how much

being here has meant-" he closed his eyes, shook his head

"truly *means* to me. How much Scotty and. . . you. . .

really mean to me."

  
  


She stared at him, green eyes welling with emotion. "Alex-

I-" The darkness in her shrank to almost nothingness.

"It's been so long since I've heard you talk like this-"

  
  


"I know, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Maddie. I promise this

time I'll be everything you need me to be. I won't let you

down again." His eyes seemed haunted with memories of

another time, another place.

  
  


"But Alex, you've never-"

  
  


"Shhhh," he interrupted, gently stroking her face, her

neck, hand dipping down to lightly massage her shoulders,

warm fingers trailing down her arms, her chest. She felt

trails of fire warm her blood. "Maddie, I need you to

listen to me. This is the first time in so very long I've

felt truly- accepted. I feel . . . whole here. I feel like

I belong." 

  
  


Her brows knit in puzzlement. "Of course you do. Alex,

we're your family. Where else would you be?"

  
  


A strange, fleeting expression crossed his face, but he

shook his head quickly, clearing away the images before

she could read them in his mind. 

  
  


"Maddie- I can honestly tell you- there's nowhere else in

this world I'd rather be than here with you."

  
  


"Then show me," she whispered, the bright fire in her eyes

burning through the shadows. Pushing him back down, his

square hands encircled her waist, pulling her back atop

him. They began moving slowly in unison, in an ageless

rythym that transcended time and space. 

  
  


She held him close to her, murmuring "Show me, Alex, and

chase the cold away."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


This may grow into a series- I haven't decided yet. Let me

know what you think!

  
  


God bless you all, and Merry Christmas!

  
  
  
  


===

  
  


-DuAnn

  
  
  
  


Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you. Not as

the world gives, give I unto you. Do not let your hearts

be troubled and do not be afraid. 

-John 14:27

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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